Taijuan Walker (4-3, 3.46) shut out the Padres over six innings on two hits and three walks while striking out three. Allen Cordoba scored the Padres lone run in the ninth inning on Ryan Schimpf‘s single.

The one great truth about baseball is that it’s extremely difficult to play competitively. Most people realize this sometime in Little League; others in high school; fewer still in college; a select handful in the minor leagues; and the rest—the very best and most determined and talented and lucky—they realize it in the major leagues.

Jered Weaver had surely brushed up against this truth at various points in his career, after a bad outing at Long Beach State or a night when his stuff wasn’t working in The Show. But he was always able to forge on, be it on natural talent or raw determination or whatever the heck it is that makes a big leaguer tick. Five years ago he won 20 games and finished third in the American League Cy Young voting, and just three years ago he pitched 213 1/3 innings with a 3.59 ERA. Through the first seven seasons of his career, he racked up 30 WAR. The game was still difficult, sure, but Weaver was able to rise above it.

Much like Weaver, though, the game too has forged on. The players have gotten younger, and better, another truth about baseball. The overall group of major-league baseball players is always getting better, and the older players are always fighting an uphill battle against time to keep up. Weaver fended off the inevitable for a while, but the wear and tear of counted innings and countless throws took its toll. No longer was he able to shake off a 125-pitch outing like he did when he was 26. All of the sudden he was 34 years old, with a fastball that’d barely raise eye brows at one of those pitch radar booths at the county fair.

Jered Weaver (0-4, 6.05) allowed one run on five hits and two walk in six innings with three strikeouts. Leury Garcia scored in the first inning when Avisail Garcia hit into a double play with the bases loaded. Weaver shut out the White Sox in the last five innings he pitched. And then came the eighth inning…

Jose Quintana (2-5, 4.38) pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks while striking out five. Hunter Renfroe hit a three-run home run off Quintana in the seventh inning.

The Padres come back home to San Diego and Petco Park for four games against the Milwaukee Brewers (21-17). Luis Perdomo (0-0, 4.13) gets the start tonight against Chase Anderson (2-0, 2.97) at 7:10pm PDT.

Before we get to Ron Fowler’s comments, let’s briefly discuss Jered Weaver‘s start to 2017. It’s been bad.

Weaver seems like a really good guy, with a sort of self-effacing sense of humor and candor that doesn’t often show in athletes, specifically when they’re down on their luck. But he’s been really bad. I’m not sure why anyone is particularly surprised by it, though, and maybe they aren’t. Last year Weaver posted a 7.50 DRA, worst in the whole darn league, and a full run worse than James freakin’ Shields. By Baseball Prospectus’ WARP calculation, he was worth negative (read: negative) 4.4 wins, a level of ineptitude rarely broached by WAR-based metrics.

Along with declining numbers across the board, Weaver’s fastball velocity has been in a much-publicized nosedive, dropping from the high 80s/low 90s a few years ago all the way down to the low-to-mid 80s now. There’s a good shot Joe Righthander, down at the local D3 Juco, throws harder than the 34-year-old Weaver does right now.

There was a very small chance that Weaver was going to be good this year, and slightly larger chance that he’d be okay, and a good chance he’d stink. I’m still convinced that the Padres signed him in part because he’s a good dude and in part because he wouldn’t impede the tank. And maybe, just maybe, he’d eat some innings and turn out to have a hint of trade value by July. But I’d be surprised if anyone in the baseball operations department had high expectations, given what we know about Weaver’s declining ability to get major-league hitters out.

Jered Weaver (0-4, 6.81), not to put to fine a point on it, sucked. Weaver allowed seven runs on six hits and two walks in three innings, striking out four. Two of those four hits were home runs, a three-run shot by Ryan Rua in the second inning and a two-run blast in the third inning by Joey Gallo. Kevin Quackenbush gave up another two-run home run by Robinson Chirinos in the seventh inning.

A.J. Griffin (4-0, 2.45) pitched a complete game shutout, giving up four hits and a walk while striking out four. The closest the Padres came to scoring a run came in the sixth inning after Manuel Margot walks and Cory Spangenberg singled with one out. But Wil Myers hit into an inning-ending double play.

The Padres head to Arlington for another two games against the Rangers at Globe Life Park. Luis Perdomo (0-0, 4.03) takes on Yu Darvish (3-2, 2.76) starting this evening at 5:05pm PDT.

In the fourth inning, Dustin Garneau and Antonio Senzatela got on base and Blackmon hit a ball to first base that Wil Myers couldn’t handle, allowing two runs to score and Blackmon to get to third base on Renfroe’s throw. Blackmon scored on an Arenado sacrifice fly.

Desmond led off the fifth inning with his second home run of the night. Gerardo Parra reached on a throwing error by Ryan Schimpf, took third base on a single by Alexi Amarista, and scored on a Garneau single. Amarista later scored on a LeMahieu single.

In the seventh inning, Blackmon drove in Garneau with a double.

Senzatela (4-1, 2.84) pitched six innings, surrendering three runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Cory Spangenberg scored on a Yangervis Solarte sacrifice double play (I don’t know, but it happened) in the first inning. Erick Aybar hit a solo home run and Jabari Blash scored on a Myers double in the fifth inning.

Sometimes things can get a little fuzzy after an evening at the pub. Here’s a friendly reminder of what you may have missed while you were drinking.

The Padres (9-15) scored fewer runs than the Arizona Diamondbacks (15-9) in the series finale at Chase Field last night, 6-2.

Jered Weaver (0-2, 4.71) pitched five and two-thirds innings, giving up five runs on six hits (including three home runs) and two walk with one strikeout. Chris Owings hit a solo home run in the third inning. In the fourth inning, Yasmany Tomas and Owings each had a solo home run. Tomas doubled home Paul Goldschmidt in the sixth inning. Miguel Diaz threw a wild pitch to Chris Herrmann in the eighth inning, allowing Jake Lamb to come home.

The Padres head to San Francisco to take on the Giants (8-15) for three games at AT&T Park starting tonight at 7:15pm PDT. Luis Perdomo (0-0, 6.97) gets the start tonight against Jeff Samardzija (0-4, 7.40).

Sometimes things can get a little fuzzy after an evening at the pub. Here’s a friendly reminder of what you may have missed while you were drinking.

The Padres (8-11) scored less runs than the Miami Marlins (9-8), 6-3 in 11 innings, last night at Petco Park.

Jered Weaver (0-1, 3.91) pitched six innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out three. Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo home run to lead off the second inning and Martin Prado hit a solo home run in the sixth inning. In the eleventh inning, Justin Bour singled off Jose Torres and Dee Gordon hit a ground ball to the pitcher that Torres threw into the right field corner, where Hunter Renfroe had trouble picking it up, allowing Gordon to run all the way around the bases for a little league home run. Prado then singled, but was forced out on a fielder’s choice by Christian Yelich. Stanton then hit his second home run of the night, a two-run shot.

Dan Straily (1-1, 3.92) surrendered two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out fourteen. Yes, I said fourteen. Austin Hedges hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning. With runners at the corners in the eleventh inning, Hedges hit into a fielder’s choice, which brought Wil Myers in from third base.

In the rubber game this afternoon, starting at 1:40pm PDT, Luis Perdomo (0-0, 8.44) gets the start against Tom Koehler (0-1, 5.40).

Sometimes things can get a little fuzzy after an evening at the pub. Here’s a friendly reminder of what you may have missed while you were drinking.

The Padres (5-9) scored fewer runs than the Atlanta Braves (6-6), getting swept in four games with a walkoff loss yesterday at SunTrust Park.

Jered Weaver (0-1, 4.24) pitched six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and no walks with three strikeouts. Brandon Phillips scored on Kurt Suzuki‘s ground out in the second inning, after singling, taking second base on Luis Sardiñas error, and moving to third base on a sacrifice fly. Freddie Freeman two home runs: a two-run shot in the third inning and a solo in the eighth inning. The Braves won when Brandon Maurer loaded the bases in the ninth inning and Dansby Swanson hit a single to left field that Allen Cordoba couldn’t catch.

Jaime Garcia (0-1, 4.67) surrendered two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out four in six and a third innings. Manuel Margot, Wil Myers, and Yangervis Solarte began the game with three straight singles, driving in Margot for the first run. Cordoba hit a pinch-hit solo home run to lead off the seventh inning before playing left field. And Austin Hedges hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning.

The Friars head home to Petco Park to begin three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks (9-5) tonight at 7:10pm PDT. Jarred Cosart (0-0, 3.86) gets the first start of the series against Shelby Miller (1-1, 5.06).

Sometimes things can get a little fuzzy after an evening at the pub. Here’s a friendly reminder of what you may have missed while you were drinking.

The Padres (4-5) scored fewer runs than the Colorado Rockies (6-3) by a score of 3-2 last night at Coors Field.

Jered Weaver (0-1, 4.91) pitched six innings, giving up two runs on three hits and no walks with five strikeouts. All three Rockies’ runs came from solo home runs. Carlos Gonzalez hit one in the fourth inning, Charlie Blackmon hit one in the sixth inning, and Nolan Arenado hit one to lead off the seventh inning.

Antonio Senzatela (1-0, 1.50) gave up both Padres’ runs on five hits and a walk in seven innings while striking out five. Manuel Margot led off the game with a solo home run and scored the second run in sixth inning on a Wil Myers sacrifice fly.

Luis Perdomo (0-0, 8.44) was put on the disabled list last night, so the Padres’ starter is to be determined against the Rockies’ Kyle Freeland (1-0, 1.50), starting at 12:10pm PDT.